The Centre government on Thursday informed the Kerala High Court that it was in the process of formulating an umbrella scheme for the welfare of transgender persons. The Centre said the scheme would be a comprehensive one and would focus on socio-economic and educational empowerment of transgender people.
The Centre made the submission in a statement filed in response to a writ petition filed by High Court lawyer Basil Attipetty seeking a directive to provide all benefits and privileges to transgender people.
The Centre pointed out that it had constituted an expert committee to study the problems faced by the community. The committee suggested that transgender should be declared as the third gender and a transgender person should have the option to choose either 'man' or 'women' or 'transgender.' The committee also recommended constitution of a National Council for Transgender Persons on the lines of the National Councils for Senior Citizens.
